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Completed Not applicable Interventional

Strength Training in Female Runners With Patellofemoral Pain

ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04480528

Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT04480528. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.

ClinicalTrials.gov public records Last synced Sep 5, 2026, 8:44 AM EDT

Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.

Official title

The Effect of Various Strength Training Protocols in Female Runners With Patellofemoral Pain

Brief summary

Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a common running-related injury that is often referred to as runner's knee. The condition typically presents with pain in the front of the knee that is located around or behind the knee cap. This injury occurs twice as frequently in females and is often associated with weakness of the muscles of the thigh and hip, as well as altered running form. Heavy-weight strength training is needed in order to improve muscle weakness; however, this puts a significant amount of load on the knee joint and it is difficult for individuals with PFP to train at this level without experiencing increased pain and joint discomfort. Blood flow restriction training (BFRT) is a promising alternative method to safely improve muscle weakness while reducing knee joint loading. With BFRT, a pressurized band is applied to the thigh in order to partially restrict blood flow as a patient exercises in order to decrease the amount of oxygen delivered to the muscle. Lack of oxygen to the muscle combined with strength training creates an environment within the muscle that results in the ability of low-weight strength training to provide the same results as heavy-weight strength training. This study will evaluate how low-weight strength training with and without BFRT affects thigh and hip strength, and consequently pain, function, running ability, and running form in female runners with PFP. The hypothesis is that 10 weeks of low-weight strength training with BFRT will lead to greater thigh and hip strength, reduced pain, improved knee function, improved running ability, and improved running form compared to low-weight strength training without BFRT. The expected results will have a significant impact within the running community by providing a safe and effective treatment that increases strength and improves running form while reducing pain and joint loading. This will also have an impact on the larger field of sports medicine by providing an alternative method to improve strength, as well as improve function when heavy-weight strength training is not well tolerated or unsafe due to injury.

Study identification

NCT ID
NCT04480528
Recruitment status
Completed
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Not applicable
Lead sponsor
Lauren Erickson
Other
Enrollment
20 participants

Conditions and interventions

Eligibility (public fields only)

Age range
18 Years to 50 Years
Sex
Female
Healthy volunteers
Healthy volunteers not accepted

This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.

Study timeline

Start date
Jun 7, 2020
Primary completion
Nov 12, 2021
Completion
Nov 12, 2021
Last update posted
Mar 3, 2022

2020 – 2021

United States locations

U.S. sites
1
U.S. states
1
U.S. cities
1
Facility City State ZIP Site status
University of Kentucky Lexington Kentucky 40536

Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.

About this trial record page

What this page shows
Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT04480528, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
What this page does not do
No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
Where the data comes from
Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
Last refresh
Last update posted Mar 3, 2022 · Synced Sep 5, 2026

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Open the official record

The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT04480528 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.

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